09.28.2011 //

For the second year running, we teamed up with The Standard hotel in West Hollywood to throw a poolside miniramp jam on the Sunset Strip. After last year’s success, we knew we had to do it again, only bigger and better, because as the saying goes, “If you ain’t growin’, you’re dying.”

We lucked out this year with Gravis and Analog hopping on board to present Sunset Rampage 2 and bring the design and construction of the custom miniramp to life courtesy of Brent Kronmueller Designs. Redbull was even kind enough to make sure all of our guests were able to enjoy tasty beverages all night long. Without their partnerships, the event wouldn’t have run as smoothly, and we would’ve probably been without Arto who was a keystone of the entire day as he not only hosted a pre-party bowl jam at his house complete with a banging’ taco truck, but he also helped announce the miniramp jam. He also was in charge of doling out the $5,000 in hundred dollar bills for the cash for clip tricks on the ramp.

Moblow. Photo: Jaime Owens

In the late afternoon, Arto had some of the Gravis and Analog family over to his place to warm it up with some beer, tacos, and pool shredding before everyone headed over to The Standard to officially kick off the night. Jaime, Bywater, and I headed over to The Saari’s where we were greeted by Mr. Saari, Ben Nordberg, Steve Forstner, Dominik Dietrich, and Mark Oblow who were all hard at work killing that bowl.

As the day progressed, more and more of the Gravis and Analog family started showing up for some pre-beers and some outer-office mingling. Adam Warren and Bobby Tang showed up. Tom Karangelov was there with some homes. Lance Mountain posted up with Arto and Arto’s daughter for a minute beside the bowl. Dylan, Spanky, Curren, Louie, Langi and a mess of others all strolled in and went straight to work in the pool. Arto’s place is pretty much a dream scenario and to say the least it was a treat to hang out and skate his pool with everyone.

Brent Kronmueller and crew. Photo: Jamie Owens

Around 5 or so the Skateboarder crew headed back to The Standard to meet back up with the rest of our staff who had been hard at work tying all the loose ends together while we were busy mingling. Brent Kronmueller and his team were nearing completion of the ramp, which looked awesome. It’s not every day you see a custom ramp build beside a Hollywood hotel’s swimming pool, let alone one built to span two astroturfed barriers beneath it, but BK saw it as a minor speedbump and cruised over it with ease.

Once the last screw was in, a few people were already there, so they started warming up on the ramp. Dave Stoddard from Brixon was there, as well as Tony Manfre, who was in town for a WESC shoot coincidentally being held at The Standard as well. Tony didn’t really seem to need to warm up, and was throwing back tails, frontside flips and half Cab feebles to fakie out with no problem.

2011 Sunset Rampage 2. Photo: John Bradford

Soon enough, the sun was setting and people were flowing in to partake in some free food, libations and to either hit the ramp or witness the wildness. Ben Nordberg was killing it right away with his asleep at the wheel style and Shawn Hale quickly made his presence known by utilizing his cornfed Midwestern build and plowing through everyone who was unfortunate enough to be in his path. He and Ben were on the ramp pretty much the whole night and were destroying it the whole time. Eddie “Mighty” Moreno was another staple on the ramp, with a ton of one foot variations in and out of blunts, disasters, airs and whatever else he felt like. We hadn’t really expected him to be there, but we’re glad he was.

(L-R) Andrew Langi & Ben Norberg. Photo: Jamie Owens

As opposed to last year, which was a nail-biter up until the moment of kick off at The Standard due to our greenness on throwing events that meet building codes, fire codes and the likes of posh West Hollywood, Los Angeles, Sunset Rampage 2 was mostly smooth sailing. People were hitting up and killing the ramp before we the sun went down, and it didn’t stop until all the money finally ran out with us dividing the last remaining $1500 amongst the dudes who ripped the ramp the hardest and the longest. Shawn Hale, Ben Nordberg, Eddie “Mighty” Moreno, and Andrew Langi were staples of the ramp, constantly throwing out mindbending tricks and remaining on the ramp for pretty much the entire night.

All in all, Sunset Rampage 2 was an even bigger success than last year. It’s hard to go wrong with the likes of Geoff Rowley, Lance Mountain, Steve Olson, Mike Carroll, Dylan, Spanky, and more hanging out on and off the ramp. Free food and booze is just icing on the cake. Thanks for everybody for coming out, and huge thanks to Adam Warren, Bobby Tang, and the entire Gravis and Analog families for all their help in making this happen. Thanks also to Red Bull crew Dave Mateus, Anna Christy, Ryan Snyder, The Standard, DJ Caesar, Chris Casey and Arto Saari for their on the mic prowess, and Brent Kronmueller and his team for cranking that ramp out in record time. See you all next year!